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The typical sound of a didjeridu is a low, buzzing drone. Some playing styles stay on this low pitch most of the time; other styles alternate between the low pitch and an overtone which sounds a tenth (an octave and a third; see Interval for more information) higher than the basic drone pitch.

For those of you familiar with acoustics, who are objecting that the first harmonic is not at a tenth, you're right. The low note available is not actually the fundamental of the instrument's harmonic series . It's very common for brass-type instruments not to be capable of playing the actualfundamental of their pipe length (or only being able to play it as an unpleasant "pedal tone"). The two notes used are actually the secondand fifth harmonics. Neville Fletcher has reported that other harmonics (for example, the third harmonic, a perfect fifth above the drone) are playable, but the two harmonics commonly used are preferred because of the way that they interact with each other and with the acoustics inside the player's mouth, to create the instrument's distinctive timbre. If you'd like to learn more about the basics of wind acoustics, please see Harmonic Series I , Harmonic Series II , Standing Waves and Wind Instruments , or Wind Instruments: Some Basics .
Rather than playing melodies created by changing pitch, the playing style normally features complex rhythms , percussive effects and variations in timbre . A typical didjeridu part consists of a rhythmic pattern that is repeated over and over, establishing a rhythmic ostinato . The pattern is not repeated exactly each time, however; the player also helps keep the musicinteresting by introducing many variations on the pattern. Some of the variations are only small changes from the basic pattern; others include largeor surprising changes.

These short videos give you a close-up view of playing techniques. For a longer discussion of the techniques, please listen to theaudio file above .

In order to keep up the rhythm pattern effectively, didjeridu players use a technique called circular breathing , which allows them to breathe in through the nose while they are still blowing through theinstrument with their mouth. This allows the player to produce a continuous sound. Some players of other low brass instruments also learn circularbreathing, but the technique is somewhat tricky to master and physically strenuous, and didjeridu is the only instrument which uses it as a matter ofcourse.

If you watch closely, you can see that Mr. Clark is using circular breathing.

Practical information for composers and arrangers

Composers and arrangers who want to add a "world music" component to their sound may be interested in the didjeridu. In spite ofits low range, the sound of the didjeridu is very noticeable because of the buzzing timbre and percussive playing style.

Note that most didjeridus cannot be tuned. A serious didjeriduist will have several instruments of different pitches, but donot expect the didjeridu to be able to produce a particular pitch, or play anything resembling a melody, unless you are familiar with the instrumentavailable. If the other instruments, in the group that you are writing for, are easily tunable (guitar and bass, for example), you may be able to ask them totune to the didjeridu.

Didjeridu can be used very effectively as a bass drone, particularly if the other instruments in the groupcan adjust their tuning. The fact that the player does not need to stop playing to breathe can be used to create interest and build tension. Although this is awind instrument, an accomplished player may best be thought of as a very usefuladdition to an ensemble's "rhythm section" (somewhat as a string bass player in a jazz rhythm section), providing both the bass note and a steady, interestingrhythmic pattern, as well as producing surprising variations on the pattern. To the Western listener, the standout timbre and unique "wind percussion" effectsof the didjeridu are strongly evocative of the "exotic" in general, and Australia in particular, and can be used to suggest a surprisingly wide array ofmoods, from "primitive" to "world-music modern", and from "earthy" to "atmospheric".

Acknowledgements and further reading

The author is grateful for the cooperation of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) School of Music and the Robert E. Brown Center for World Music , and particularly for the assistance of Phil Clark. A graduate student in ethnomusicology at UIUC, specializing inAustralian music, Mr. Clark provided information as well as playing didjeridu for the video and audio recordings in the lesson, and allowing his instrumentsto be photographed.

This lesson is just an introductory overview. As of this writing, the following sites included much more in-depth information onthe didjeridu:

Neville Fletcher's journal article, "The Didjeridu", in Acoustics Australia, Vol 24, pp 11-15 (1996) (available on-line here ) is only one report from numerous investigations into the acoustics of the instrument.

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Source:  OpenStax, Musical travels for children. OpenStax CNX. Jan 06, 2010 Download for free at http://cnx.org/content/col10221/1.11
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